Blockade

Wave-Calming Pool was not within Cloud Prefecture, but in neighboring Qing Prefecture. This was also why, when Shen Yuan had asked about the Water Tribe, the Maine Coon had not thought of Wave-Calming Pool right away.

In ancient times, Shen Yuan's divine sense would not have been enough to sustain sword flight, and it would have taken at least several days to get there.

But with the development of modern Great Xia society, traveling normally by train to Qing Prefecture would take little more than half a day.

However, as a member of the Demon Race, the Maine Coon certainly could not appear in densely populated areas.

Places like train stations and airports were even more crucial points under the Great Xia Court's control.

Its little demon arts might be enough to fool ordinary people, but before Great Xia Court cultivators, they would inevitably be seen through at a glance.

Especially since the Maine Coon was a Qi-Refining Realm demon. If it rashly made a move, it could cause enormous casualties. At this stage, with the Spirit Tide having only just returned, it was an object of key observation.

Shen Yuan had no desire to stir up further trouble, so he could only choose to take a private car to Qing Prefecture.

Before long, an old white car slowly pulled up outside Shen Yuan's courtyard.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Shen, heading to Qing Prefecture?"

The rideshare driver in the driver's seat gave Shen Yuan, standing at the entrance, a surprised look.

In his eyes, Shen Yuan held an adorable black-and-white kitten in his arms, while a well-behaved Maine Coon lay at his feet. He looked every bit the seasoned cat servant.

"No other luggage?"

"It's just us," Shen Yuan replied evenly.

Of course, he had brought luggage. It, including the Dark-Bright Sword, had all been stored in his storage ring.

Shen Yuan's words made the driver pause. He had seen plenty of passengers, but someone booking an entire car with just two cats and no other luggage was a first for him.

That'll save quite a bit on gas.

"You should get in quickly, Mr. Shen. Let's try to reach Qing Prefecture before dark," the driver said warmly.

Shen Yuan nodded, then opened the door and sat in the front passenger seat.

The driver looked doubtfully at the Maine Coon that remained where it was. Just as he was about to ask where the cat was supposed to go, the tiger-colored Maine Coon extended a paw and skillfully opened the car door.

The driver stared dumbfoundedly, while Shen Yuan casually explained.

"My cat is rather smart."

Then, under the driver's gaze, the Maine Coon carefully climbed into the car. The instant all four of its paws left the ground, the whole vehicle sank down a notch as though something heavy had suddenly pressed down on it.

The Maine Coon's transformation into a kitten was merely an illusion. With a body and weight comparable to a tiger's, it was already no easy feat for the car to hold it. Once inside, it lay sprawled across the seat, not daring to move.

The driver wore a vacant expression. Shen Yuan gave a dry cough and said:

"My cat is a little heavier than other cats."

The driver swallowed, the smile on his face turning somewhat stiff.

Thanks to online publicity over this period, ordinary people had gained a rough understanding of cultivators and the Demon Race. Still, most ordinary people living in cities would never come into personal contact with such things.

Even now, many still believed the videos circulating online were special-effects composites and did not believe demons truly existed.

The driver had originally been one of them, but the Maine Coon's intelligence in opening the car door on its own, along with its seemingly small yet several-hundred-kilogram weight, made the doubts in his heart vanish like smoke.

The car slowly left the old district. As the driver drove, he kept glancing at the Maine Coon in the back seat and quietly said:

"Mr. Shen, you're really lucky. I heard pets that have mutated like this are now worth even more than a house. Have you raised this cat since it was little?"

"I picked it up in my own yard."

The driver's face immediately filled with disbelief, but considering how expensive such a pet was, it was normal to hide the truth.

Shen Yuan's perfunctory answer displeased the driver somewhat, but the curiosity it had stirred in him made him unable to resist continuing the conversation.

"I heard a mutated pet like this can sell for several million now. Mr. Shen, are you interested in selling it?"

Shen Yuan's eyelid twitched. The Maine Coon in the back seat instantly looked at the driver with hostility.

If Shen Yuan had not been there, the Maine Coon probably would have considered attacking him outright.

"This cat is a little fierce. I'm afraid it might hurt someone else, so I have no intention of selling it for now."

The driver burst into laughter at that.

"Mr. Shen, you don't understand. Which of the people willing to buy mutant pets like this isn't a billionaire tycoon?

No matter how powerful a pet is, it can't possibly stand up to modern firearms. If you ask me—Achoo! I didn't turn on the air conditioning, so why does it feel a little cold?"

Shen Yuan glanced at the Maine Coon, whose gaze was gradually turning colder, and casually said:

"I'm not interested in selling it for now. Let's change the subject."

The driver was somewhat regretful, but once his tongue had been loosened, he continued boasting about things he had seen online to pass the time.

One listen was enough for Shen Yuan to know that all the "my buddy," "my brother," and "a friend of mine" in the driver's stories were mostly boasts.

Yet a certain little kitty clearly did not see it that way. Bai Xue, lying in Shen Yuan's arms, listened in fascination. With her little paws tucked beneath her, she curiously poked out her tiny head, and from time to time made suitably astonished expressions.

With that level of intelligence, she would probably still be helping count the money after the driver sold her.

The journey passed swiftly like this. By afternoon, a checkpoint with a red light blocked the car's way.

The driver got out and went to speak with the official personnel who had set up the checkpoint ahead. Before long, he returned to the car with an annoyed expression.

"Sorry, Mr. Shen. The checkpoint ahead was set up by the Southern Pacification Army. They say there's been a large-scale landslide on the highway ahead, and every vehicle trying to enter Qing Prefecture has to turn back.

Even residents living in the nearby mountains have been arranged by the Court to relocate."

"We're only a little over a hundred kilometers from Qing Prefecture. I didn't expect something like this to happen.

How about we find somewhere nearby to stay the night, then head to Qing Prefecture tomorrow morning?"

At the mention of the Southern Pacification Army, Shen Yuan's gaze narrowed slightly. The spatial power produced by the Pot-Heaven Divine Ability silently attached itself to his eyes.

His gaze pierced through the checkpoint, the mountain ridges, and the many villages whose residents were being relocated, yet Shen Yuan saw no sign of any so-called landslide.

Instead, in the blazing afternoon sun, the mountain ridges gave off an unnatural air of gloom. The shadows cast by sunlight upon the trees seemed to turn into twisted demons baring fangs and claws.

The entire mountain range exuded an abnormal deathly stillness and chill.

Retracting his gaze, Shen Yuan thought briefly before saying, "I'll get out here."

Under the driver's astonished gaze, Shen Yuan opened the car door and gradually walked away with the two cats.